Chapter 68: Everyone Uses Their Tricks, Chasing Wind Steps Perfected

Chapter 68: Everyone Uses Their Tricks, Chasing Wind Steps Perfected

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Ding!

The gentle wind brushed across the earth, jingling the bell hanging by the window and sending crisp echoes through the air.

The sound made the Black-Cloaked Man, who was in the middle of healing himself, immediately stop his actions. His expression turned wary as he rose to his feet and crept to the corner of the room, pressing his ear against the wall to listen.

This bell was connected to a trap he had carefully set outside. If enemies approached, the bell would ring.

Now that the bell had sounded, he instantly suspected someone had come.

"This courtyard has no neighbors, and no one usually disturbs me. If someone truly came, they must have ill intentions!"

His heart pounded as his mind raced.

"Who could it be? How could they even know I’m living here? Could it be the County Magistrate’s Office? No, I’ve only been in White Stone City for a short time. I haven’t even committed any crimes yet. The authorities couldn’t possibly know about me. Or… could it be him?"

The Black-Cloaked Man mused, a familiar figure flashing through his mind—Su Chen.

But then he shook his head. It seemed impossible. After all, he had easily shaken off Su Chen before. How could that person have tracked him here?

After waiting for a while and hearing no further sounds, the only thing that reached his ears was the howling wind.

He relaxed slightly, thinking he might have been overly paranoid.

"Hmm? What’s this smell? No good—someone poisoned me!"

Suddenly, a faint scent surged into his nose, making his mind grow hazy. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. He collapsed to the ground.

A shadow slowly emerged from the window, gazing down at the fallen figure.

"Where… am I?"

After an unknown amount of time, the Black-Cloaked Man opened his dazed eyes and saw another man in a black cloak standing before him.

"Who are you?!"

Startled, he tried to leap up, only to realize his hands were bound.

"You’re awake", Su Chen said calmly. "I’m here for the Secret Manual you possess."

"What Secret Manual?"

"The one containing the body cultivation technique you practice."

"You mean the Chasing Wind Steps?!" the Skyborne Phantom blurted, startled.

Su Chen nodded. This time, he didn’t mind exchanging a few words. "Exactly."

"Then who are you?!" the Skyborne Phantom demanded, his voice darkening.

He watched Su Chen rummaging through his room and sneered, "Don’t bother searching. The Secret Manual isn’t in this room."

Su Chen paused, a strange smile spreading across his face. "Then what about this?"

He pulled a scroll from his robe and slammed it onto the table.

Seeing it, the Skyborne Phantom’s pupils contracted. "Impossible! How could you find it…"

But as he spoke, he noticed the odd smirk on Su Chen’s face. Realization dawned, and his face flushed with fury. "You tricked me!"

Su Chen didn’t respond. Instead, he walked to the bed, carefully inspecting it. Earlier, when he revealed the scroll, the Skyborne Phantom had glanced in this direction.

"Ha! You won’t find it!"

After a brief search, Su Chen indeed found nothing, which made the Skyborne Phantom smirk triumphantly.

Crack!

But in the next moment, his smile froze. Su Chen struck the wall with his palm, easily creating a deep indentation. The crumbling earth revealed a corner of another hidden scroll.

"You…"

The Skyborne Phantom was stunned, his mind blank.

Once again, he had been outmaneuvered!

"Found it!"

Su Chen opened the bundle and saw the Secret Manual inside. Flipping through it briefly, he felt a surge of satisfaction.

His primary goal in coming here had been to kill the Skyborne Phantom. Finding the Secret Manual had been an afterthought.

He hadn’t expected that a few simple tricks would lead him to the hidden treasure.

"You’re despicable!" the Skyborne Phantom spat, watching Su Chen claim his precious scroll.

Su Chen turned to face him, and the intensity of his gaze made the Skyborne Phantom shiver involuntarily.

"What… what are you going to do?"

Su Chen advanced step by step, silent and ominous, making the Skyborne Phantom’s heart race with panic.

"W-wait! Don’t kill me!"

Seeing the coldness in Su Chen’s eyes, the Skyborne Phantom stammered, "You—you’ve taken the wrong Secret Manual!"

At these words, Su Chen paused slightly, and the Skyborne Phantom’s face lit up.

"Quickly! That scroll only contains the most basic techniques. To truly master the advanced methods, you need the Blood Circulation Technique, which I’ve memorized!"

"If you kill me, you’ll never get it. Let me live, and I’ll tell you everything. I swear!"

Su Chen remained silent for a moment before asking, "Do you have money?"

"Of course! Of course!"

"Where?"

"Buried under the dirt beneath the chamber pot, in a bundle."

Su Chen endured the stench, moved the chamber pot aside, and used a wooden stick to dig through the dirt. Sure enough, he uncovered a small box.

Opening it, he turned to the Skyborne Phantom. "This isn’t enough."

"H-how about I steal more from a wealthy family? Just tell me how much you need!" the Skyborne Phantom offered nervously.

"No need."

Shaking his head, Su Chen pocketed the money and stood before the Skyborne Phantom, looking down at him. "Don’t bother struggling. That rope isn’t easy to untie. And…"

"And what?!"

The Skyborne Phantom blurted out, only to see a pitch-black palm strike his forehead with a crisp sound—the sound of a shattered skull.

"You… you broke your word", the Skyborne Phantom gasped, his face twisted with resentment.

After confirming the Skyborne Phantom’s death, Su Chen muttered, "Fool. When did I ever promise to let you live?"

Saying this, he delivered another palm strike to the corpse’s head. Only when he was certain there was no response did he rise.

But instead of leaving, he sat on the table and began studying the Secret Manual titled Chasing Wind Steps.

As expected, it was a long-distance movement technique that enhanced speed. The Skyborne Phantom had likely cultivated this very method.

However, its effects were limited to speed alone. Among all the Vital Force Cultivators Su Chen had encountered, this one was undoubtedly the weakest in combat ability.

After reading the entire manual and practicing once, the Progress Panel displayed a new line:

[Martial Arts: …Chasing Wind Steps (Initiation 1%)]
[Easy Mode: …Chasing Wind Steps 0 Times (1 Tael of Silver per Time)]

Seeing this, Su Chen murmured, "Recharge."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end